American Citizens Services
March 2009 American Citizens Services Newsletter
U.S. Consulate General Hong Kong and Macau
Welcome to the March newsletter! Here are this month's topics:
New Topics:
Continuing Topics of Interest:
CUSTOMER SATISFACTION SURVEY
We would like to hear from you! If you have recently come to the American Citizens Services Unit for any type of service, please visit http://www.questionpro.com/akira/TakeSurvey?id=1163308 and complete our customer satisfaction survey. The survey will only take a few minutes and feedback on your recent experience at the U.S. Consulate will help us better meet your expectations.
TAX SEASON IS HERE!
Forms and Instructions – You can find all of the forms and instructions needed to file taxes, and answers to some of the most commonly asked questions, on the IRS website at 1040 Central.
International Tax Filers – The IRS provides an excellent resource for those filing U.S. taxes from overseas on their website for the International Taxpayer.
Tax Changes Highlights – There are a number of changes that have been made to the U.S. Tax Code for this filing season. Please see Tax Law Changes on the IRS website for a full list.
E-File, E-Pay and Direct Deposit – Electronic filing options speed the payment of refunds to millions of taxpayers. Taxpayers who e-file and choose direct deposit for their refunds, for example, will get their refunds in as few as 10 days. That compares to approximately six weeks for people who file a paper return and get a traditional paper check. This year, taxpayers were able to begin filing electronically on January 16.
Disclosure and Use of Taxpayer Information – New IRS regulations give taxpayers greater control over their personal tax return information. The Internal Revenue Code, Section 7216, Disclosure or Use of Tax Information by Preparers of Returns, became effective January 1, 2009. These regulations limit tax return preparers' use and disclosure of information obtained during the return preparation process to activities directly related to the preparation of the return. The regulations, along with supplemental Revenue Procedure 2008-35, contain the updated rules and requirements relating to disclosure and use of tax return information. These regulations apply to paid and volunteer preparers and the administrative staff that supports them. See the IRC 7216 information page on IRS.gov for more details.
UPCOMING CLOSURES
The Consulate General has no scheduled holiday or other closures in March.
SUBSCRIBING/UNSUBSCRIBING
Anyone who wishes to sign up to receive this monthly ACS email newsletter and the travel advice we provide can do so simply by going to our web page and submitting their email address in the fill-in box towards the bottom of the page. You can also unsubscribe through the web page.
New subscribers will be sent the last few messages we have sent out in a digest form to help them catch up. Back issues are on the web at http://hongkong.usconsulate.gov/acs_newsletter.html.
This newsletter is published by the American Citizens Services Unit, U.S. Consulate General Hong Kong and Macau. Tel: 2841-2211, 2841-2323, 2841-2225; fax: 2845-4845; e-mail: acshk@state.gov; website: http://hongkong.usconsulate.gov. All services by online appointment only.
Last modified: March 3, 2009
American Citizens Services
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